The present inventions relate to localization of an object or target of interest.
It is often desirable to track one object from another object to determine if the tracked object will intercept the tracking object, or at what point in time will the tracked object be at it closest approach to the tracking object, sometimes referred to in the art as xe2x80x9cTarget Motion Analysis.xe2x80x9d For example, a vessel afloat in the presence of subsea or partially submerged obstacles would need to know where those obstacles are in order to avoid hitting those obstacles. By way of example and not limitation, such systems have been proposed in the art to avoid collisions with other vessels, collisions with such as icebergs, and collisions with submerged objects sufficient to cause damage such as ledges, seamounts, or reefs.
Some of the prior art has proposed using statistically based tracking methods. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,043 to Nguyen et al. for xe2x80x9cOptimized Deterministic Bearings Only Target Motion Analysis Techniquexe2x80x9d teaches using four target bearings to optimize a target track solution.
In other art, U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,471 issued to Perruzzi, et al. for a xe2x80x9cMethod And System For Determining The Probable Location Of A Contactxe2x80x9d teaches a method and a system for determining a weapon firing strategy for an evading target. Perruzzi ""471 comprises the steps of sensing the motion of the target, analyzing the motion of the target, providing a weapon employment decision aid, determining the evasion region for the target using the weapon employment decision aid and the analyzed motion, visually displaying the evasion region, feeding operator knowledge about evading target, and generating a representation of the probability of the location of the evading target.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,867,256 to Van Rheeden for xe2x80x9cPassive Range Estimation Using Image Size Measurementsxe2x80x9d teaches a range estimation system and method which comprises a data base containing data for identification of certain targets and data for estimating the initial range to each of the targets as a function of the observed dimensions of the targets. A sensor (1) observes a scene containing a target a plurality of spaced apart times while the sensor is moving relative to the target to provide data from each observation of the scene relating to the dimensions of the target within the scene. The remaining range to the target is estimated from the observed dimensions of the target from the range traveled since a prior estimation of range and from a prior estimation of the remaining range to the target. The sensor (1) provides electrical signals representing the observed scene (3) and can be a visible light or infrared sensor. A computer (9) is used to identify the target from the data base, estimate the initial range to the target and estimate the remaining range from the range traveled between successive observations of the scene and the change of dimensions of the target in the observed scene.
As noted in the prior art, there are a number of situations where it is desirable to estimate the range to an object of interest or target (e.g. aircraft without the aid of instrument landing systems, automobiles that would be aware of the distance between vehicles to avoid collisions, and missile-based warfare). As also known in the art, active techniques to measure range, such as radar, ladar and sonar, have drawbacks, primarily in military applications, including easy detection by the target under attack. This is true, for example, in submarine warfare where one vessel may want to use sonar to determine the position and velocity of an enemy ship. In such situations, it is advantageous to estimate range to the target passively.
For passive tracking situations, in order to react quickly, tracking methods would preferably fix a boundary on the range to the tracked object quickly while using a minimum amount of data, preferably passive data. Further, it is preferable to calculate the bearing of the tracked object with respect to the tracking object at a point of closest approach, along with calculating a time to that closest approach, independent of other position data.
The AN/SQQ-89(V) UFCS (Navy) surface ship ASW Fire Control System currently uses the Manual Adaptive Target Estimator (MATE) and Maximum Likelihood Estimator (MLE) algorithms to determine target position. These algorithms require substantially more data than the present inventions to obtain their results. The MATE algorithm requires operator based estimates, and systematic manual manipulation of the data to arrive at a position, course and speed estimate of the target. The MLE algorithm also requires limited operator input to arrive at a statistically based estimate of position, course and speed of the target. Both of these algorithms require a substantial amount of data, approximately fifteen to twenty data points, to arrive at a stable solution.